Buff Skiers Just Half Point Back

WINTER PARK - The University of Colorado ski team is in second place, trailing by just a half point, after the first four events of the NCAA West Regional, which was completed here Sunday.

Three-time defending NCAA Champion Denver holds the slimmest of leads at the midway point. The Pioneers totaled 290.5 points to Colorado's 290, as the Buffs are bidding to win their second straight regional title, and fourth in the last five years. Utah is in third with 267, while New Mexico, the only school to win two meets in the west this winter, is a distant fourth with 228.

Colorado dominated the slalom Sunday, scoring 84 points on the women's side thanks to a 2-3-4 finish, and coming up with 79 in the men's competition, as the Buffs went 2-3-9 in combining for 164 total alpine points. DU was next with 151.5, with Utah a distant third with 132.

Freshman Erika Hogan captured second in the women's slalom in a two-run time of 1:28.35, as Denver's Sophie Ormond won in 1:28.03 thanks to posting the fastest second run in 45.36; Hogan led after the morning run as she blazed to a 41.87 time, owning almost a full second on the field. Senior Tove Pashkowski nabbed third in 1:28.92, while junior Mia Cullman place fourth in 1:29.16. It marked the second time this year the Buffs placed three finishers in the top five of any discipline, as the men had a 1-2-4 effort in the slalom in CU's invitational earlier this month.

In the men's slalom, sophomore Tyler Shepherd finished second with a 1:28.21 time, and frosh Brad Hogan grabbed third in 1:28.35 as Western State's Ben Brown won in 1:28.04. Another CU soph, Tahir Bisic, bolstered the effort by finishing ninth in 1:29.16.

New Mexico rolled up 142 points in the nordic freestyle races, followed by DU with 139, Utah 135 and CU 127.

Utah's Katrin Smigun won her ninth straight race in claiming the women's 5k freestyle, with her winning time of 14:55.7 good over a 20-plus second win. CU senior Claire Critchley posted a career best third place finish in 15:18.6, two-and-a-half second behind runner-up Martina Stursova of New Mexico. Sophomore Jana Rehemaa was CU's next finisher, grabbing 10th in 15:47.6, while Muriel Huberli struggled to a 19th place effort in 16:30.6. as she battled some sickness.

In the men's 10k, freshman Erling Christiansen was the top CU finisher, as his 27:44.0 time was good for seventh, with junior Josh Smullin taking ninth in 27:46.3. New Mexico'a Jimmy Vika won the race in 26:11.9.

"It was a great effort and performance, and we benefited out of depth and strength," CU head coach Richard Rokos said. "(Jed) Schuetze and (Fritz) Ernemann both went down, but Tahir came from the back of the field to post a top 10 finish. I think that shows just how deep we are in alpine. But we paid for it in cross country where we really don't have the depth, especially with all of the men sick with some kind of stomach flu."

Colorado has now qualified a full team for the NCAA Championships, and the aim in the final four events is to improve seeding positions. "Tomorrow, while it'd be nice to defend our (regional) title, we're really just out to improve our qualifying seeds," Rokos said. "We're already in pretty good shape for Dartmouth next month, but it wouldn't hurt to move up a spot or two." Dartmouth is the host of the NCAA's, set for March 5-8 in Lyme, N.H.

The meet concludes Monday with the giant slalom and nordic classical races.

NCAA West Regional Team Scores

1. Denver............. 290.5
2. Colorado........... 290
3. Utah............... 267
4. New Mexico......... 228
5. Nevada............. 196
6. Alaska-Anchorage... 191.5
7. Western State...... 167
8. Whitman............ 108
9. Montana State......  64.

Men's Slalom--1. Ben Brown, WSC, 1:28.04; 2. Tyler Shepherd, CU, 1:28.21; 3. Brad Hogan, CU, 1:28.35; 4. David Lamb, DU, and Reuben Kuruvila, UN, 1:28.45; 6. Dominik Schweiger, DU. 1:28.80; 7. Todd Ligare, DU, 1:28.93; 8. Pierre Olsson, Utah, 1:29.15; 9. Tahir Bisic, CU, 1:29.16; 10. Jernej Bukovec, Utah, 1:29.20. Other CU Results: Did Not Finish-Fritz Ernemann (first run), Michael Read (second run). Disqualified-Jed Schuetze (first run).

Women's Slalom--1. Sophie Ormond, DU, 1:28.03; 2. Erika Hogan, CU, 1:28.35; 3. Tove Pashkowski, CU, 1:28.92; 4. Mia Cullman, CU, 1:29.16; 5. Barbara Knor, DU, 1:29.25; 6. Petra Svet, Utah, 1:29.50; 7. Lina Johansson, Utah, 1:29.83; 8. Quincy Young, UN, 1:29.94; 9. Rowena Bright, 1:30.08; 10. Caroline Schicht, UNM, 1:30.12. Other CU Finishers: 15. Erin McEachren, 1:31.77; 24. Sarah Fischer, 1:34.03; 25. Amy Beresford, 1:34.30.

Men's 10K Freestyle--1. Jimmy Vika, UNM, 26:11.9; 2. Tobias Schwoerer, UAA, 26:18.9; 3. Lars Krogsveen, UNM, 26:54.0; 4. Dylan Prosser, DU, 27:17.0; 5. Hakon Johansen, DU, 27:21.5; 6. Ryan Quinn, Utah, 27:31.4; 7. Erling Christiansen, CU, 27:44.0; 8. Martin Bartnes, DU, 27:44.4; 9. Josh Smullin, CU, 27:46.3; 10. Zack Simons, Utah, 28:08.4; Other CU Finishers: 11. Henrik Hoye, 28:13.5; 17. Nick Sterling, 28:48.5; 18. Norbert Pelc, 28:55.0.

Women's 5 Freestyle--1. Katrin Smigun, Utah, 14:55.7; 2. Martina Stursova, UNM, 15:16.1; 3. Claire Critchley, CU, 15:18.6; 4. Abby McAllister, UN, 15:24.5; 5. Kristina Strandberg, UNM, 15:28.2; 6. Karin Camenisch, DU, 15:40.2; 7. Jess Gray, WSC, 15:42.7; 8. Barbro Hatlevik, Utah, 15:45.8; 9. Mandy Kampf, UAA, 15:46.7; 10. Jana Rehemaa, CU, 15:47.6. Other CU Finishers: 19. Muriel Huberli, 16:30.6; 29. Brooke Rygg, 17:29.6.